Clay + Stone

Hello, everyone!

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves! We are a husband and wife team of creators who work in various mediums to tell stories. Here's a little backstory, because believe you me, this story could have been turned into a chapter book. I could have dived in to so many details, but I will keep it somewhat short.

We started a company called The Bellenbeau Society back in 2013. We encountered many clients that wanted the moon in a logo. We were working for people who would pay when they felt like it, people who didn't like our prices, and those who wouldn't pay us at all (church folks). It got to a point where what we were earning wasn't enough to keep our site up and running.

In 2018, we decided to close it and step away from the oversaturated market of graphic design. It was time out for people undervaluing our work. So, we took a break. We figured we had plenty of time to build another platform to share our creative ideas and work in the future.

Oh, but remember, dear readers, time is NEVER on your side.

August 10, 2019, we found out we were pregnant.

Because of our miscarriage in 2016, we truly believed our baby-making days were over. We decided to slow down. Enjoy life. Have fun outings with our little guy. Take things easy, you know. Really stop and smell the roses. We were truly shocked to discover that we were once again pregnant.

Hey, for weeks leading up to that amazing discovery, I wasn't feeling myself. I just thought it was because of the family drama I had dealt with weeks prior. Then I thought, nah, that can't be it. I was making sure I took care of myself after that ordeal, being mindful of my needs, being at peace and enjoying my moments of solitude. But, why did I feel so drained and tired? My body was telling me it's something else. Again, because of the miscarriage and how much time had passed thereafter, pregnancy did not come to mind. I really thought it was because of my mental, spiritual and emotional recovery. Spsss. Practice Mindfulness, folks. Just saying. Be in tune with your body.

I knew something was different.

That day, we went to Walmart to pick up a few things to cook and school supplies for our little guy, who would be starting his first day of 1st grade that coming Monday. As soon as we got in Walmart, my senses were on 1,000. I could smell everything all at once. Old lady's perfume, cigarettes, cat food, sea food, urine on a person 10-15 feet away sitting on a motorized shopping cart... you name it! I felt really sick

So, I told my husband, "Babe, I'm going to buy a pregnancy test." His eyes got big and he was like, "Nuh uh. Are you serious?" I was like, "Well babe, something feels different today. I don't feel so well and I can smell everyone in this store, on every aisle. I can smell the meat from the snack aisle... I am feeling very nauseated and come to think of it, I think I'm late."

I was right to get a pregnancy test! Soon as we got home, I went straight to the bathroom. It only took seconds to get a positive read! Life was about to become a little different for our tiny family of 3. Because of the miscarriage, we called to schedule a prenatal appointment a.s.a.p. to see how far along I was and to be sure everything would be okay... this time.

And then there were 4...

We were scheduled for a sonogram. There the baby was on the screen, wagging his/her little developing limbs. It almost looked as though the baby was waving at us. Little did I know I was estimated to be at least 1 month pregnant. We were now officially going to be a Tribe Called ________ (We haven't come up with a good name yet, but maybe one day..) How awesome!

I was expecting the bundle of love to be another boy. I did not expect the doctor to confirm that, low and behold, "You're having a girl." WOW!

My husband and I realized at that moment that we could no longer just take it easy. Maybe we could stop to smell one or two roses along the way LOL!! But that was it 😆. We needed to push even harder to provide not only an awesome start and future for our Sun, but NOW we had another Star's future to think about. We knew we had to get back to work. Fun times weren't completely over, but we dialed it back a bit LOL!

We began to push to complete the illustrations for a book I had written in 2018 entitled They're Not So Bad. It was our website's Best-Seller, followed by A Sleuth of Bears A Murder of Crows. By the way, Imma need ya'll to put some respect on our co-authored book, Fran Zenobia Who Suffers Pantophobia. It is our most underrated book. Fr Fr😆.

While the illustrations were being completed, we decided that the name, The Bellenbeau Society, may one day be an umbrella company. We needed to come up with a new name and website to sell our books. We went over a few ideas realizing since our store is for children, why not dedicate it to OUR children. The name and look needed to represent them in some way. We were going to use their first names, but I realized the middle names would be perfect.

Clay + Stone was born, literally.

Then came the logo. Initially it was just our two children on the logo: Clay and Stone. But I really wanted to include the baby that we never got to meet. So, that cute little baby with the symbolic halo above her head with her eyes closed, represents Jade. Jade is what I would have named the baby if it was a girl. Jade is also the name of the main character in They're Not So Bad. It was my way of memorializing her.

We worked hard to get all of this completed in a short amount of time-- a very trying time: Pandemic crisis 2020, new baby, husband working from home, book orders coming in, eLearning because of school closures... All of this was happening in a tiny overpriced one-bedroom apartment.

We persevered.

We are still pushing to make sure we leave behind as much as we can for our children, and our children's children, and our children's children's children...

Thank you for allowing us to reintroduce ourselves. It's not only the #endofthemonth It's also our son's 8th Birthday!

The Birthday Boy, Clay of Clay + Stone

To celebrate, share our site. Share this blog. Shop on our site. Tell your child's school that they need our books in every classroom. Write a letter to your child's teacher and tell them about our books. Tell a friend to tell a friend to tell their friends about Clay + Stone!

More books always on the way!

Kindest Regards,

Clay + Stone